Device fob unscrewing and withdrawing pipe



H. W. FLETCHER.

DEVICE FOR UNSCREWING AND WITHDBAWING PIPE. APPLICATION FILED OCT- 29.1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

H. W. FLETCHER.

DEVICE FOR UNSCREWING AND WITHDRAWING PIPE.

APPLICATION FILED ocT, 29. IQIB.

Patented July 29, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

HW. FLETCHER a awww/woz @13 HAI-5 atten/w1? HAROLD w. FLETCHER, oF.HoUsTo1\T-,iTEXAs. l

DEvICE ron NsoRnwiive AND WITHDWINGPIPE. u

Application filed October 29,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HAROLD WV. FLETCHER, a citizen of the United States, ,iesiding at' Houston, Harris county, Texas, have iiivented a certain new and useful Improve-V ment in Devices for Unscrewing and vVithdrawing Pipe, of Awhich the following'is a full, clear, and exactidescription, suchv as will enable others skilled'in the art to which it appertaiiis to make and useithe same`. vv

yMy invention vrelates' to an improvement in devices for unscrewiiig and'withdrawing pipe from wells, mines oi for other similar uses. 1 l

The lengths of pipe usedin oil or water wells, mines etc., are alniost invariably threaded for connection with thecouplings with ay right handwthreadf, The rotary which operates the drillfstem, or serves to thread the lengths of. casing together is the same righthand'or WVhen it is desiredV to adapted to rotate Vin clockwise direction. unscrew pipe and withdraw it from -the well, it is necessary "to reverse 'the direction of rotation sol as to give the desired left hand' Usually the oil ory depth and 'if movement to the pipe. water wells are of substantial it is desired to withdraw a broken' 'off length ofdrillstem from th'ewell atap isl'owered down inside the 'pipefor a` certain depth and, when the same is attached to the pipe so as to obtain a grip thereon, the tool is ro'- tated in a left hand or vcounterclo ckwise di#y a section 0f the: pipe, inl order that it may be withdrawn. This Vpro-j whereA the pipe hasbecoine sandedup of' otherwis-aI rection to unscrew cedure is especially adapted for use lodged inthe well so that it becomes im-l possible to withdraw the whole string ofV pipe in 'one operation. As thetap is 'at-l tached to the end of a piece of'drill sten'i,`it

is necessary that the lengths of'pipe which,

make up this piece of drill stein should be threaded in a left hand'direction inord'er to prevent the drill stem," ing the otherpipe,

tates keeping on Ahand a is for use only in this operation.

An object' of In a toolwliich may hand direction .f fi Specification of Letters ateiit.V

used in withdraw-` f from itself unscrew'ing and being left in the well.:` This" necessi-'f large amount of. pipe threaded in alleft hand'direction which` invention is to provide" e attaclied'at-the end of: a drill stem, threaded in theordiiiary'right i l and which'will serve tov p givethe desiredv left' hand motion tothe *pipev Patented July 2a-'191e 191s.' seriaiirpjzeonifz. i

which v visfdesired[to unscrew and Withdraw.

'Another object is'to provide a tool of the character' described Awhich lshall be of simple aiidrugged construction, such as'is neces# sary forl the heavy operations to which it lis) adapted, and which will be so inclosed/ and protected' fas tofprevent excessive wear the workingjpartsf "Otherobjects and'ladvantages of my in-r vention will 'more clearlyQapp'ear in thel de'- soription which follows, andl will be. set

forth with -inore particularity in the claims herewith.

' Referring now tothe ldrawings.forming a'partv of thisspecilicationand in which like numerals are applied tolike lparts throughout the several views, Figure 1 is a central longitudinaly section .through my device, the central shaft thereof being shown infelevation. Fig. 2 is a'transverse section on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1. Fig'is a'trans-.

verse section on the line 3 -3 of 11." Fig. 4 vis `a similar sectionon the line of Fig. 1. Fig.l l5 isl a 'central longitudinal section similar to Fig. 1, illustrating a modi,- fiedembodiment ofy inyfi'nvention; isv a "transverse Section on the Fi 5; `vIVigQ-"K'lis a similar sectionon the lineT-T of Fig. 5.'

withincludesa central shaft'l'O, having an upper' cylindrical yenlargedl section 11, and athreaded'upper eXtensionylQ for attachmentto an ordinary right handdrill stem. The shaft 10 is concentric with the aXis ofthe drill stem fora short-distance and ispro-v extension 13, which is reduced slightly in diameter Atoward' the vided Awith an eccentric lower `,onehalf thereof to furnish support for vaV thrust bearingSQ kduring ,the rotation of thesha'ft.V threaded midway commodate nut22, to support thebearing 32, andfis stillfurther reduced atlthelowe'r end, jasv at 15', where furnishes 'attachment for laradial bearing ring 29:.y 1

`The. Steaua io of the Sii. a is provided-f with' yan outer' bearing'sle'eve 16, which Vis.

threaded@ its the same. Mounted upon the eccentric 'por'- tion .13 of 4the fshaft, is a gearl l19,@whichl is of smalll 4dia-'meter and toothed eXteriorlyat Fig.v 61 yline 'ofi This reduced portion. 14,; is', of its length at 21 to ac`- lower endfto` another sleeve V 17, of f'sliorter length, tsaidv sleeve 17 having inwardly projecting gear teeth 18,

' Between kthe two seen. from 4Eig- 1,.' this .ringfyserves asa, ,bear-L ing to'. takez xup wear, between theretating parts/and, will fitl closely v,bet,ween theA two gear sleevesfso as togprevent' thef, entran ce-of grit'or sand from the outside of. the. tool to; the ienerreteting: parte- Thebeeeng- Heey b e-'remevedeed eplaeedvheewern The;` Sleeve 23" having thereon the gear.. teeth.` 24.. tow-,ard fits. vvupperi eed; is-eetended downwardly for attachment' to `JanQther lower. sleeve, 3Q to-whiehit is t lrreaded, {iF-hisA downward extension@ hasA an inwardly projecting flange lgforini'I ggag shonldei beneath the .gearbox formed w.tl111.-.the gear sleeve 23;` andv fitting. abgove the thrnst ,bearing iny nfianner.. shown in Eig. 1`. 'Ivhe:l lower.. e'ndfo'f.y sleeve. 23 'is` threaded, aslprevionsly; described, foiattachment tof-fthe .sleeve '30.; rllhe. inner liloper; part'ef-the7 sleeve ,30,3 for. Aa.

dtenee equal. tO-

the; length@ which. iSi

threadedfinto thesleeve, 235V forinsa chamber within. .which the.; lineage, .aageheqthei shaft. 14 in 'ythemarnner Qdescribedfis adapted; retate- The-nuts@ ilaptedlt Velet ght cned linto place upon, cthe Yshafty as {showni at?- 21',s0 as to forniva lower;l 'retaining,,means` for.. the. ,eeringmemberga 'saiirbeerine' member- 'reetiigpertlyillipeh the; :nfutg 22r and; pertl. upon.. the. @uppeiz eheulder Let theel-eem@ 30.1v Qter pe-:agriggpaeee meegegaan@ ieeeehee yeeee1y-f..re1pwee nei-2.2 fue... nishlng locking means to event the,V unecrewing5v .p 1f-Seid-v Jlub-f The beeringemenr bel: 29. eefhel-lewel* ends-15.;- ef ftlieeeeeetre! pelteelef theeheft 10, ie. .ttfed vilthiehe, Sleee .3 0 Sea-ee. t0 been etellefimefefegeet the ,inner siirltzwe thereof;` Astlielportion O f the Shaft eeeeexitrie eed,-the -.Sleeve.3,9 isf. bored eeeeeplieelly With-ith. Sheff 1025 ther bearingniember 2 9 isl set eccentricallynnen theperteelfet the shaft ipx-Spell mennen the? .wlleeth'eeheftlroteteewith@ g`yre1fe-1ef.K motion within theEsleeve-.BQ the; bearing 29; will rotateevenlyj in.' constant Contact with the ieee1=pertienefthe- .Sleeve 3 0 lhelbeerev ieg,mef'rlbe.'1f- 2.9y eiretenedupee'- the ;pertiene lfefrthe Sheffby meeeefe, epieef, hieh is. :reaped 'te pass.;direoeyffghmegh eee'ri-lege 1 leemleerI and, theaeheft fend; iSiretainedin., position by contactgfofhthe H in:v

With-the dimer .Welle et the Sleeve' 2.3043 he,"

,geembema bearing, member-32 irevipus'ly. described is fiXedupon 'the' `portion 14 ofthe shaft by Ineans of a slidable key 35. This bearing Aportion-vwillbeseen to be also eccentric, as eempeledwththe sleeve 23 Within which it frotat'es5 to aceoinmodate" the gyratory motion of the 'shaft at that point in the manner previosly A'described in relation to the bearing he'l sleeve l30 is' extended downwardly below the end 15,0f,,theshaftL 1.0.1201. a short distance? as iillustrated 5 inl Fig,y 11 andV is sleeve;3G;` Tlielowerend Ofjthesleeve is entended;l inwardly 'toAv form a flange 37,

adaptedffto `itf'fcllsely, about theV slidable tion,B'Sfofthesaidgjar is polygonal in shape Heng 4.0 .adept being .i.s,cQ'nneczted1 frorfrtlie sleeve 36 in an olovoii-s.` `Inannex". The.; drilling.v j ar,` 39 is e'ffeelie eie1QWer-- enel. 'te @M1241 Iedepied to'grip the pipe'which Ais to be unscrewed.

I -lhe upper Sleeve oper on, be held'stationary A.within the well. l A y spurjoosellf provided a clanipinglnieans composed of .jaws 42, offwhich I have-shown thre'lg,A toothed. on their onter surfaces attf, inforderetp obtain affirm. and;

mun able .gr`1`p ,lnponjt theouter casing ,or

i. lle-Welle Whenfthepemp eeteppedfthe Passage will stern attached to. thel .upper of lthe/ shaftll). will ,rotate stationary position.,

tainthe geanteeth. l.18. *also stationary. `As

relative', tethe ,axis-ef it. will 'pefelm 'eeeyreteyfmevementWithin f es, )en 1 .uiepel-leiltveedly; exteedingf edi te prex'ent the '.jar.. from 16? of thistool niust VinV .These .jaws `project out-V .Iflllel-l.'v4 epenngs' 4e inA the Sleeve.. 16`

gaat within.

ogerationfofniy inyentiqn the rotal 2 0 threaded into ,thenpperf end ,ofl av lcoupling v 'niovelnent. thereof.,

ros

l eteeth. 413.: inte gripping asing; 9. `A ,sniall"pas s'age Channel 46l downwardly the sleeves 17 and 23. This gyratory movement will cause the teeth 20 to-'mesh with the teeth 1S of the annular gear-on one side only at any instant of time. y'liteferringparticularlyto Fig.' 3 it will be seen that vthe gear 19 will b'c carried" around inside the outer toothed sleeve, once with each rotation of the shaft. As the shaft rotatesin a'clockwise direction it will be obvious that the gear 19 will be rotated in a contrary direction, thereby setting up a left' hand rotation. The lower enlarged -part25 of the gear 19 is of larger diameter than that of the upper part in order to mesh properly with the gear sleeve 23 which is ofjgreater internal diameter than the gear sleeve '17. 'The contact of the teeth 2G of the gear 25 withl the inner teeth 24 of the outer sleeve 23, vat one point thereon as shown in Fig. 4- will cause the outer sleeve 23 to rotate in the samedirection as the vgear 25,A4 but as' may seen the speed of rotation of the sleeve 23 will be less than the speed vof rotation of the shaft.l l `l The rotation ofthe sleeve 23 will be communicated tothe sleeves 30 and 36 andv from them-to the upper end 38 of vthejdrilling jar 39. lVhen the pipe to be unscrewed is rotated by the tap 41 'attached'to the lower end of the jar, it is obvious that the rotation will be infa left hand direction thereby unscrewing the pipe,l but as my device is Afixed against movement' within Vthe casing by means of the jaws 42, no vertical movement ofthe same is possible. Vhen the tap is first screwed into the pipe tovbe removed, it must move' downwardly several inches in order to thread t-he tap into the pipe; when the'tap is'come to a 'seat anda 'joint of the pipe below unscrews, the unscrewing will' cause the same to move upwardly for a few inches, sufficient to detach the upper length of pipe from the upper fixed end of the pipe below. These axial movements of the tap will be accommodated by of the jar 39 with the lower sleeve 36. lVhen the pipe has been unscrewed the jaws may be released from contact with the casing by merely shutting down the pump and the tool, together with the unscrewed pipe, may be withdrawn from the well.

The embodiment of my device shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 is identical with that shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, with the exception of the planetary gear member 19 and its connecting parts. With special attention to this particular part of the mechanism it will be observed that the upper sleeve 1G is attached to the lower gear sleeve 17 having inner teeth 18 which serve to mesh with the eccentric gear 19 mounted upon the shaft 13. The rotation of the shaft 10 and the eccentric portion 13 thereof will carry the gear 19 in a lanetary manner about the annular gear 17) causing the same to rotate be readilyv the sliding contactV in the manner previously described. The rotation` of the' gear 19 will be communicated to a connecting ring 49 which serves as ar coupling means between the gear 19 and the driven ring 23. The upper portion of the connecting ring 49 lis provided with diametrical keys'50 which iit into slots 51 in the lower portion of the gear 19 and are adapted to coact in a slidable manner. The coupling ring 49 is provided with downwardly projecting keys 52 for slidable connection with slots 53 in the upper face of the driven sleeve 23. As will be noted from thedrawing the coupling sleeve 49 has an internal diameter somewhat greater than the outer diameter of the shaft at 13. This internal diameter is sufficient to accommodate the lateral play of the shaft relative to the ring` 49, necessary to the operation of this device. The driven ring 23 is made with an internal diameter of the same dimensions asl is the ring 49. Between the sleeves 17 and 23 I have provided a Vbearing ring 27 to accommodate any wear between the moving parts.

n the operation of this embodiment of my invention the rotation of the shaft 10 will produce a gyratory motion of the portion 13 of said shaft within the outer sleeve 17 thereby carrying the gear 19 in a planetary orbit about the inner portion of the sleeve 17. This will cause the gear 19 to rotate in' a left hand direction and this movement will be Vcommunicated by means of the slots 51 fitting over the .keys 50 to the coupling ring 49. T he gyratory movement of the gear 19 will be partially accommodated by the sliding movement of the slots 51 over the keys 50 of the ring. Motion in a direction at right angles to that just described will be accommodated by the lower keys of the coupling ring` 49 within the slots 53 on the upper face of the driven sleeve 23. As the sleeve 23 is bored interiorly concentric with the axis of rotation of the shaft 10, this coupling ring 49 will allow a lateral movement in all directions of the gear 19, which actuates the driven member 23, in an obvious manner. The rotation of the driven ring 23 will be communicated to the sleeves 30 and 36 and from thence to the tap 41, in the same manner as has been described relative to the preferred embodiment of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, the objects and advantages of which will be clear without further explanation, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the character described, a bearing and locking sleeve, a rotatable operating shaft therein, an eccentric extension on said shaft, a gear rotatable thereon, a stationary annular gear outside of and meshing with said rotatable gear and means connected with said. rotatablev gear to` co1n4 municatethe rotation ,thereof to a plpefgrip-I ping means.

In a device of the.character described,

' a sleeve, 1neans for lockinguthe saine. Within a. Well casing, a shaft rotatable therein, a` stationary annular gear; onsaidlsleeve7 al lowersleeve and means o n said sliaftagndzop'-V erated by said shaftand said tion opposite to that of Saidshaft.

3. Ina deviceoftlie cliaiacterdescribed al sleeve, a shaft rotatable therein aI central,- chamber in said sleeve about ,said--shaf t-, slidable jaws inthe ysides of said chamber, and4 a luidchannel in said shaft connected With-L said chamber for thel purpose describedA 4. .In combination, a reversing toolgcome.

prising a series of outer sleeves, a. shaftrotatable therein,` said sleeves and hydraulic means to force said jaws outwardly relative to ,s aidlsleeves.I

5. A devicefo unscrewing pipe, comprisinga bearing sleeve 1neans to lioldthe same. a power shaftl 1n,` Saldi' in a fixed position, sleeve, a driven sleeve1n eans on saidlslfiaft and said bearing sleeve totransniitrotation to said driven sleeve in a directioncentrary; to that.. of the shaft, a pipe gripping means A and means between the saineand said driven, sleeveto allow for vertical.movement` ofthe,

pipe.

inga bearing sleeve, means to fix saidsleeve in aWell, a power shaft in said sleeve,:a gear sleeve, a, gearn sald;

sleeve .on said bearing shaft rotatable eccentricallyfvinlsaid l gear Cqpislfofthis patent may beobtainer fer ive v1cents each,

gear to cause; therotation of said lower sleeve 1n ya direc clamping jawspn one of? 6.' A devicefor unscrewing pipecolxiiprisY sleeve, aidriven., sleeve Iggitated;loy saidgear,

filp'grpp gmeansatatatedbyfsaid'drivenslidablermiectmmbetween saidf;

n cljeWflIlg-fpipevfthe @Qrnbinatioa of@ fixedbea .in-geringe@ Power shaftmountedf @mitsappelle.andA in. Ysai, f=.rihg,' -lawercentrie parrons Oi-Sadffshaft bearing therefor, a; gaan-.011; Said eccentric prtienfadapted. tofrotate inf-a direction: contrary toithatiof theshaftna drVeHi-Sleevelopf eratedg by sai f .gearfand -pipegrippingmeans' connected with saidiidriven; sleeve.

8,.;In device1 ofthe;character;v describedi,`

v and anniversal couplingibetween; said-,gear

and., said' ring'-y 9.- .In agdevce @the-.character describe@ a power shaft, an eccentric extension thereon, aStatwnara:Quberfgear Lf-gear 0n Saldextension. adapted to @.Operate .Wlth

SaidS-tf1tenarygear toretate in ai direction opposit't@ iba Concentri wit aidinever .Shaft and@ .unversal ceuplfngi betw-rrsa-id.- 'gear and; Said driven.:,slee/ve.. .Said ouplnefremprisne a flatfring having l.atelg-ally.,-jsliding connecf tion with botligear ,l and sleeve.

-. firstv` named gear, 

